For my EPS class I had the students create and present simple posters containing a possible food web for an assigned biome. This was in relation to standards PS2 5a. Students worked in groups to create and present a possible food web for organisms that would be in their biome. The students were showing the flow of energy and relationship among animals.
B. Formal Assessment
For my ninth grade Earth and Physical Science (EPS) class I needed to give the kids a summative end of chapter test on magnets and motors. This test was designed to cover PS 2 SAE 7. The test was written to be difficult but valid. In school often times tests are given because they have to be, and as such they are made simple and focus on DOK 1, and maybe a question on 2. My test was DOK 1, 2 and had at least one question at level 3. This assignment was a standard written test, in which students were given a full block (88 mins) with those who needed more provided more. The students were also given a review guide to guide there studying, both the test and the review guide are attached.
III. Assessments
A. Description of Informal Assessment
A great many of my ninth grade EPS classes were started off r featured mini poster projects. These served a variety of purposes, often at the same time. First off they were informal and gave students the opportunity to be creative in class and to work together. They were quick, the students had to present them orally to the class, and they gave students a chance to stretch a bit in the long (88 minute) period they had to spend in stools.
This particular project was to create a food web for their assigned biomes. In class we had talked about the organization of our natural world and were introducing biomes, and energy flow (food webs and chains) in class. The day’s class started off with an interactive lecture and ad a small amount of guided reading. To finish up the class (and start off the next one) students were to create a possible food web for their Biome, the only catch was that it needed to be poster paper size, and they could make it as decorative as they had time for (I go around the room and make sure that students are getting the content first in these projects). In class we had gone over the differences between food webs and food chains as well as the biomes and students were reminded when given the assignment (which was written on the board) that they were creating a web not a chain as well as other anticipated pit falls and trip ups (i.e. the arrows show the transfer of energy, producer to consumer etc.) The days class finished with the poster and the next started with them having five minutes to complete them before presenting to the class on there food web.
The finished work serves three major purposes
I can hand the better ones around the room as a visual reminder
The material is put into pictures and words for those students who benifit from that
I can see where the short comings are in the class from both the product and the presentation
For the formal assessment the students were given a pencil and paper test. The test was 16 questions and featured varying response styles to accommodate different learners’ styles. The break down by question type is as follows.
·4 multiple choice
·6 True or False
·6 constructed response (including diagrams
Additionally some students (IEP and others) were allowed extra time to complete this test, consistent with my views that few things in life are artificially timed and that students should be given time to show me what they know. The test mirrored what we talked about in class and have previously covered in class. One question asked students to make connections which we had not made as a class. The parts were all covered and they were asked to put them together on their own.
The test was taken in a very traditional way, in many high schools, this one included; students must take and pass numerous high stakes tests. Although I do not believe in ‘teaching to the test’ I do believe that students need to practice in this possibly stressful environment in order to prepare themselves mentally for future tests and the academic world.
With this in mind the test was given with students between dividers (due to structure of the classroom) and there was no talking etc. I was available to answer questions students may have but was careful to make sure that I did not give them any answers in my answers to their questions. Students were allowed to ask me questions before the test, although I simple had another class mate answer the question and only if it was a valid question. By this I mean that I would not answer a question the student had due to lack of studying (i.e. DOK 1), but would help clarify a part of a more complex concept.
The kids were also given a review guide to help them in focusing their studying, this was collected. You will find that the review guide focused students learning by use f higher level concepts. There was no list of vocab words for students to memorize, but rather a list of questions which to trully undeerstand would involve using vocab and linking concepts, not simply memorizing.
Another plus to the assignment is that everyone in the room is learning something, myself included. While the students are creating and presenting their posters I can see what they are thinking and guide their thoughts. I can also see what the understanding of their poster is (some students can create great posters and have no idea what they represent) by questioning the students as they present.
I wanted students to show an understanding of their biomes by selecting appropriate organisms. I also wanted them to correctly show the relationships between those organisms. Finally I wanted students to be able to differentiate between a food web and chain. Everyone was able to create a web with appropriate animals. A few had the arrows mixed up, inadvertently showing that the producer was getting energy from the consumer, once corrected they seemed to understand the mistake. Additionally we ended up being able to really see the point of interrelatedness in terms of the organism relationships) and being able to trace everything back to the sun, two major themes in the unit.
C. Analysis of Formal Assessment
As a general statement I feel that the assessment did what it was designed to do; that is it tested higher level thinking and was a fair assessment. The class average was a an 89, and the class average for the third quarter was a 87, very similar grades, an indication that the assessment was actually valid, as when compared to other class work the grades were very similar. The average deviation between a students quarter three grade and their test grade was 6 percentage points, a relatively insignifigant number for such an assignment. Only four students (out of 32) got 100%, and no students failed. This shows me that the test as challenging but fair, based upon what the students learned in class and what they knew was expected of them on the test. Nearly all students completed the review guide, and I feel this is reflected in the students scores.
No assessment is perfect (especially at the first attempt) and in an informal item analysis it was found that question 6 had 89 percent of people get it wrong, due to this I threw out the question. This was a wording error I noticed as soon as copies were made, and this was discussed with students after the test. On average 40 percent of students lost some points on each constructed response section, however only 11 percent got more than half of the points taken off, meaning many people made small mistakes, often only half a point was taken off.
It was noted that several f the true/false and Multiple Choice questions had only correct responses, making it seem as though in the future I may need to rewrite the test with more vigor, at least for the honors kids. However I still feel as though it was fair and that students as a general statement were well prepared for the test, which showed.
Once desegregated based on gender, the scores were within half of a percent of each other, with the girls receiving an 89 average and the guys 89.3. This is a definite non signifigant diffence, showing a high degree of internal reliability.
I found that this type of in class activity typically goes well, as did this edition. The kids enjoy doing it and a good number truly enjoy the chance to be creative with the content. It puts the kids into smaller groups were they seem to be less threatened to ask me questions, and it gives them at least a small reason to want to learn, as they need to present it to their peers, and no 14 year old wants to look bad in front of friends.
An added plus is that it gives the kids a bit more practice with presenting to an audience, although very informal it is still a chance from them to become comfortable in front of people, which is a challenge for some.
Nothing is without issues though. A few students are very good at using this as off task time ( although they are also good as using the entire day as off task time in speaking with their other teachers) and some just get brought along for the ride and color. However even for those students who are taking a trivial role in the group, they still have a chance to make something they can take pride in as well as learn from their peers
B. Reflections from Formal Assessment
This test seems to have been well received, many students were excited to get it back, and although im sure a large part of it was the grade, I feel that at least for some of the students it was a real sense of accomplishment, as a few students that usually struggle did very well. I think this can be attributed to the varied delivery styles of the material to the class. I also feel that the review guide was a useful and fair tool to the students. Too many times teachers give nearly the test in nearly the same format to students as a study guide, and I did not want to do that. My guide was the same topics presented differently, and you really had to work to get the study guide. In the future I feel as though some of the multiple choice questions could be more difficult, although I like the structure of the test going from easy to harder items allowing students to go with confidence towards the more difficult items at the end.
VI. Conclusions
Often times in school testing is the end all be all of student achievement. For myself in high school as well as many others it is heartbreaking to do well on everything but the test. In this unit that was not the case. I feel as though the class work adequately prepared students for the test without teaching to it.
As for the informal assessment I think the frequency that I implement it needs to be monitored, as it is a double edged sword. I see doing it frequently as a good thing in terms of student familiarity with the process and the product they should produce. However it des use a rather large bit of time, which we have such a limited supply of. I think it will be huge for me to be able to balance these ideas in my future teaching endeavors.
I feel as though this unit was well done, but partially because it lends itself to that. I feel as though hands on and interactive teaching is key to student learning and passion, and this unit is well suited for that kind of teaching, it is very mechanical in nature. Looking towards other EPS topics I wonder how I will be able to stage the material (say speed and acceleration for example) in such an approachable manner.
Formal and Informal Assessment of Student Learning
Name: Chris Liberti
I. Assignment Description/Requirements
Formal Informal Assessments 2009
II. Description of Learning Goals
A. Informal Assessment
For my EPS class I had the students create and present simple posters containing a possible food web for an assigned biome. This was in relation to standards PS2 5a. Students worked in groups to create and present a possible food web for organisms that would be in their biome. The students were showing the flow of energy and relationship among animals.B. Formal Assessment
For my ninth grade Earth and Physical Science (EPS) class I needed to give the kids a summative end of chapter test on magnets and motors. This test was designed to cover PS 2 SAE 7. The test was written to be difficult but valid. In school often times tests are given because they have to be, and as such they are made simple and focus on DOK 1, and maybe a question on 2. My test was DOK 1, 2 and had at least one question at level 3. This assignment was a standard written test, in which students were given a full block (88 mins) with those who needed more provided more. The students were also given a review guide to guide there studying, both the test and the review guide are attached.III. Assessments
A. Description of Informal Assessment
A great many of my ninth grade EPS classes were started off r featured mini poster projects. These served a variety of purposes, often at the same time. First off they were informal and gave students the opportunity to be creative in class and to work together. They were quick, the students had to present them orally to the class, and they gave students a chance to stretch a bit in the long (88 minute) period they had to spend in stools.This particular project was to create a food web for their assigned biomes. In class we had talked about the organization of our natural world and were introducing biomes, and energy flow (food webs and chains) in class. The day’s class started off with an interactive lecture and ad a small amount of guided reading. To finish up the class (and start off the next one) students were to create a possible food web for their Biome, the only catch was that it needed to be poster paper size, and they could make it as decorative as they had time for (I go around the room and make sure that students are getting the content first in these projects). In class we had gone over the differences between food webs and food chains as well as the biomes and students were reminded when given the assignment (which was written on the board) that they were creating a web not a chain as well as other anticipated pit falls and trip ups (i.e. the arrows show the transfer of energy, producer to consumer etc.) The days class finished with the poster and the next started with them having five minutes to complete them before presenting to the class on there food web.
The finished work serves three major purposes
B. Description of Formal Assessment
For the formal assessment the students were given a pencil and paper test. The test was 16 questions and featured varying response styles to accommodate different learners’ styles. The break down by question type is as follows.- · 4 multiple choice
- · 6 True or False
- · 6 constructed response (including diagrams
Additionally some students (IEP and others) were allowed extra time to complete this test, consistent with my views that few things in life are artificially timed and that students should be given time to show me what they know. The test mirrored what we talked about in class and have previously covered in class. One question asked students to make connections which we had not made as a class. The parts were all covered and they were asked to put them together on their own.The test was taken in a very traditional way, in many high schools, this one included; students must take and pass numerous high stakes tests. Although I do not believe in ‘teaching to the test’ I do believe that students need to practice in this possibly stressful environment in order to prepare themselves mentally for future tests and the academic world.
With this in mind the test was given with students between dividers (due to structure of the classroom) and there was no talking etc. I was available to answer questions students may have but was careful to make sure that I did not give them any answers in my answers to their questions. Students were allowed to ask me questions before the test, although I simple had another class mate answer the question and only if it was a valid question. By this I mean that I would not answer a question the student had due to lack of studying (i.e. DOK 1), but would help clarify a part of a more complex concept.
The kids were also given a review guide to help them in focusing their studying, this was collected. You will find that the review guide focused students learning by use f higher level concepts. There was no list of vocab words for students to memorize, but rather a list of questions which to trully undeerstand would involve using vocab and linking concepts, not simply memorizing.
IV. Analysis
A. Description of Class Context
B. Analysis of Informal Assessment
Another plus to the assignment is that everyone in the room is learning something, myself included. While the students are creating and presenting their posters I can see what they are thinking and guide their thoughts. I can also see what the understanding of their poster is (some students can create great posters and have no idea what they represent) by questioning the students as they present.I wanted students to show an understanding of their biomes by selecting appropriate organisms. I also wanted them to correctly show the relationships between those organisms. Finally I wanted students to be able to differentiate between a food web and chain. Everyone was able to create a web with appropriate animals. A few had the arrows mixed up, inadvertently showing that the producer was getting energy from the consumer, once corrected they seemed to understand the mistake. Additionally we ended up being able to really see the point of interrelatedness in terms of the organism relationships) and being able to trace everything back to the sun, two major themes in the unit.
C. Analysis of Formal Assessment
As a general statement I feel that the assessment did what it was designed to do; that is it tested higher level thinking and was a fair assessment. The class average was a an 89, and the class average for the third quarter was a 87, very similar grades, an indication that the assessment was actually valid, as when compared to other class work the grades were very similar. The average deviation between a students quarter three grade and their test grade was 6 percentage points, a relatively insignifigant number for such an assignment. Only four students (out of 32) got 100%, and no students failed. This shows me that the test as challenging but fair, based upon what the students learned in class and what they knew was expected of them on the test. Nearly all students completed the review guide, and I feel this is reflected in the students scores.
No assessment is perfect (especially at the first attempt) and in an informal item analysis it was found that question 6 had 89 percent of people get it wrong, due to this I threw out the question. This was a wording error I noticed as soon as copies were made, and this was discussed with students after the test. On average 40 percent of students lost some points on each constructed response section, however only 11 percent got more than half of the points taken off, meaning many people made small mistakes, often only half a point was taken off.
It was noted that several f the true/false and Multiple Choice questions had only correct responses, making it seem as though in the future I may need to rewrite the test with more vigor, at least for the honors kids. However I still feel as though it was fair and that students as a general statement were well prepared for the test, which showed.
Once desegregated based on gender, the scores were within half of a percent of each other, with the girls receiving an 89 average and the guys 89.3. This is a definite non signifigant diffence, showing a high degree of internal reliability.
Examples of student work
V. Commentary / Reflection
A. Reflections from Informal Assessment
I found that this type of in class activity typically goes well, as did this edition. The kids enjoy doing it and a good number truly enjoy the chance to be creative with the content. It puts the kids into smaller groups were they seem to be less threatened to ask me questions, and it gives them at least a small reason to want to learn, as they need to present it to their peers, and no 14 year old wants to look bad in front of friends.An added plus is that it gives the kids a bit more practice with presenting to an audience, although very informal it is still a chance from them to become comfortable in front of people, which is a challenge for some.
Nothing is without issues though. A few students are very good at using this as off task time ( although they are also good as using the entire day as off task time in speaking with their other teachers) and some just get brought along for the ride and color. However even for those students who are taking a trivial role in the group, they still have a chance to make something they can take pride in as well as learn from their peers
B. Reflections from Formal Assessment
This test seems to have been well received, many students were excited to get it back, and although im sure a large part of it was the grade, I feel that at least for some of the students it was a real sense of accomplishment, as a few students that usually struggle did very well. I think this can be attributed to the varied delivery styles of the material to the class. I also feel that the review guide was a useful and fair tool to the students. Too many times teachers give nearly the test in nearly the same format to students as a study guide, and I did not want to do that. My guide was the same topics presented differently, and you really had to work to get the study guide. In the future I feel as though some of the multiple choice questions could be more difficult, although I like the structure of the test going from easy to harder items allowing students to go with confidence towards the more difficult items at the end.VI. Conclusions
Often times in school testing is the end all be all of student achievement. For myself in high school as well as many others it is heartbreaking to do well on everything but the test. In this unit that was not the case. I feel as though the class work adequately prepared students for the test without teaching to it.As for the informal assessment I think the frequency that I implement it needs to be monitored, as it is a double edged sword. I see doing it frequently as a good thing in terms of student familiarity with the process and the product they should produce. However it des use a rather large bit of time, which we have such a limited supply of. I think it will be huge for me to be able to balance these ideas in my future teaching endeavors.
I feel as though this unit was well done, but partially because it lends itself to that. I feel as though hands on and interactive teaching is key to student learning and passion, and this unit is well suited for that kind of teaching, it is very mechanical in nature. Looking towards other EPS topics I wonder how I will be able to stage the material (say speed and acceleration for example) in such an approachable manner.